bullsvsbussWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“bulls” and “buss” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,486
“bulls” frequency rank
#33,500
“buss” frequency rank
58986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bulls buss
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bullir 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bussen

Where the eye mixes bulls and buss

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. bulls runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against buss's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
bulls
4 ch
buss

Visual trap between bulls and buss

A purely visual mix-up. bulls ([buʎs]) and buss ([bʊs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bulls is recorded at frequency rank #25,486, classified as averb, pronounced [buʎs]. buss is at rank #33,500, tagged as averb, pronounced [bʊs].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 58986, this pair ranks #841,637 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bulls vs buss

Shared letters: bsu. Private to "bulls": l. Private to "buss": -.

"bulls" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "buss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bulls ← bbulls · bluls · bullss · buls · bulsl · ublls
  • buss ← bbuss · bsus · buß · ubss

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bulls" and "buss" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([buʎs] versus [bʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bulls" vs "buss" - which ranks higher?
"bulls" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,486 in our German list, against #33,500 for "buss". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bulls" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "buss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #841,637 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bulls" and "buss" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "buss vs Bussi". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #841,637 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list